1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an impact detection arrangement for a vehicle, having at least one pressure body in a side door region of the motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle equipped with such an impact detection arrangement.
2. Description of the Related Art
DE 100 62 427 A1 discloses a generic type of impact detection arrangement for a motor vehicle. The impact detection arrangement of DE 100 62 427 A1 has at least two pressure chambers arranged at different regions in or on the vehicle or at different positions in the same region in or on the vehicle. The pressure chambers are connected in pairs to a differential pressure sensor via connecting lines. The impact detection arrangement of DE 100 62 427 A1 is suitable for rapid side crash sensing and also for detecting roll over, flip over, a collision or an impact in the front or rear region or in other regions of the motor vehicle. The pressure chambers of the arrangement are arranged here in a left-hand or right-hand side door of the motor vehicle.
Pressure sensors have been used for some time to detect a side impact to a motor vehicle and to enable a triggering signal to be outputted in good time, for example, in a crash where the sill board is impacted. This occurs, for example, in a side impact of an off-road vehicle. These pressure sensors have been used in barrier impact tests and produce a strong signal at an early point in a barrier impact test that produces surface deformation of the outside door panel. These pressure sensors also are used in fixed pole side crash tests that usually are carried out with a pole that has a diameter of 300 mm in various X positions. However, the local deformation of the side door of the motor vehicle is not so pronounced in a fixed pole side crash test that a sufficiently steeply rising or strong pressure signal is made available. The reason for this occurrence is that the fixed pole side crash tests cause a low volume reduction of the side door in relation to the overall volume in the region between the outside door panel and the inside door panel.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of specifying an improved or at least a different embodiment for an impact detection arrangement of the generic type that can be used for reliably detecting different types of impact.